I am lying in bed after a long road trip during which I was selling things. I don't don't know what. I am in a four-poster bed but without a canopy. Juliet is on the left. my brother on the right, and I am between and facing them at the bottom of the bed. We are on top of the covers which are in a miss-mash between us.
We are playing a game in which one is supposed to toss an uncooked and hard pea and the others each try to catch it before the other. It's fun and although I become very competitive (which is my character) we play this game for some time. After a while I realize that it is just a game and I need not be so serious about it.
It suddenly strikes me that both have missed me terribly during my road trip. The game is meant as a welcome gesture. I become less competitive. They love me with all their hearts. I think briefly of the road but push this thought out of my mind.
The pea is suddenly soft and threatens to break apart. I am now playing the game alone with Juliet. She is on the upper right side of the bed now. It strikes me that I do not care about the pea anymore. A longing from having been away from her fills me. I catch the pea triumphantly but feel ashamed for having made such a big deal about an innocent game.
It strikes me again that they both love me very, very much and have missed me. The game was a playful reminder of this; like puppies reunited after one falls out of the box. I am filled with love for them both.
Juliet tosses the pea one more time in my direction. I catch it and let it melt away. Now she is in my arms sleeping with her head on my shoulder. I am holding her and the love for her is seeping out of me. I have missed her terribly.
My thoughts wander briefly to the rigors of the road and of being a salesman who obtains contracts for large companies to buy up smaller chains of motels and hotels. But I am again aware of Juliet sleeping so peacefully with such love and abandon on my shoulder.
I gently try to squeeze out from her so that I can go to use the bathroom. I want to be very careful to not wake her. I slip out about half way.
I wake up. I realize that my effort to gently slide out was in response to my years of living with Yvette and her annoyance with me when I woke her up in the middle of the night while getting out of bed. I realize that it was Yvette sleeping in my arms, not Juliet. I am saddened by the fact that neither Juliet nor Yvette are with me now. I don't need to be careful. I live alone now.
We are playing a game in which one is supposed to toss an uncooked and hard pea and the others each try to catch it before the other. It's fun and although I become very competitive (which is my character) we play this game for some time. After a while I realize that it is just a game and I need not be so serious about it.
It suddenly strikes me that both have missed me terribly during my road trip. The game is meant as a welcome gesture. I become less competitive. They love me with all their hearts. I think briefly of the road but push this thought out of my mind.
The pea is suddenly soft and threatens to break apart. I am now playing the game alone with Juliet. She is on the upper right side of the bed now. It strikes me that I do not care about the pea anymore. A longing from having been away from her fills me. I catch the pea triumphantly but feel ashamed for having made such a big deal about an innocent game.
It strikes me again that they both love me very, very much and have missed me. The game was a playful reminder of this; like puppies reunited after one falls out of the box. I am filled with love for them both.
Juliet tosses the pea one more time in my direction. I catch it and let it melt away. Now she is in my arms sleeping with her head on my shoulder. I am holding her and the love for her is seeping out of me. I have missed her terribly.
My thoughts wander briefly to the rigors of the road and of being a salesman who obtains contracts for large companies to buy up smaller chains of motels and hotels. But I am again aware of Juliet sleeping so peacefully with such love and abandon on my shoulder.
I gently try to squeeze out from her so that I can go to use the bathroom. I want to be very careful to not wake her. I slip out about half way.
I wake up. I realize that my effort to gently slide out was in response to my years of living with Yvette and her annoyance with me when I woke her up in the middle of the night while getting out of bed. I realize that it was Yvette sleeping in my arms, not Juliet. I am saddened by the fact that neither Juliet nor Yvette are with me now. I don't need to be careful. I live alone now.
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